HURRICANES Maria and Lee are set to converge and travel over the Atlantic to hit Britain this weekend, forecasters have warned.

Remnants of the two major storms, which have devastated the US and the Caribbean, will leave Britons facing winds of up to 85mph towards the end of the weekend and into next week, the Met Office has predicted.

The pair are expected to meet and join in the mid-Atlantic at the end of the week.

Forecasters said the two weather systems will have weakened by the time they enter British latitudes, but their remnants will still contain tropical air, which can influence weather in the north-east Atantic, including the UK.

Yesterday, meteorologists believed Lee was reducing in strength, but this afternoon Lee strengthened to a Category 3 storm to become the fifth major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

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Ex-Maria is likely to impact our weather towards the end of the weekend and into the beginning of next week

Frank Saunders, Met Office

Lee, now a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, was about 1,765 miles (2845 km) west of the Azores, packing maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), the NHC said.

It added: ”Slow weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours.”

Weather maps by WX Charts show northern Scotland being hit by 85mph winds, northern England facing 65mph winds and the South and Midlands having to deal with more than 40mph gale-force winds.

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The Met Office has not issued any weather warnings yet, but is considering putting out severe warnings and has told people to keep a close eye on the forecast.

Both hurricanes are taking a curved track across the North Atlantic towards the UK, but meteorologists have warned they could veer from the path at any moment and take a more direct approach towards central Britain.

Frank Saunders, duty chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Ex-Maria is likely to impact our weather towards the end of the weekend and into the beginning of next week.

“However, it is important to say that any weather impacts will be far from those experienced in the Caribbean.

“Hurricanes gain their energy from the warm tropical waters and ex-Maria will be modified significantly as it tracks over the cool North Atlantic ocean.

“Ex-Maria will still contain tropical air brought north and it is this air which has the potential to affect our weather. Our waters are far too cool to sustain an actual hurricane.

“These systems regularly head towards the UK, especially in autumn. They can bring very strong winds and heavy rain, but they are a normal part of our weather.

“At the moment the track of Maria is uncertain and therefore the direction in which it takes as it weakens and becomes ex-Maria is also uncertain.

“This makes it hard to assess the likely impacts ex-Maria may have on our weather, therefore it's worth keeping up to date with the forecast for the latest information and we'll keep you updated with any potential impacts for the UK.”

Reuters

Hurricane Maria has devastated much of the Caribbean, including St Croix

Britain is hit by the remnant of hurricanes every few years.

In August 2014, Hurricane Bertha hit with 94mph gusts and severe flooding.

Hurricane Katia hit in September 2011 with even stronger winds of 98mph, causing one death and widespread travel chaos.

Katia was a powerful Category 4 hurricane when it hit the western side of the Atlantic Ocean before heading over to Britain.

Maria, which is heading over now, reached Category 5 at its height and Hurricane Lee has now reached Category 3 and is only getting stronger.